Voldemort
Background Tom Marvolo Riddle (December 31, 1926 - May 2, 1998) is the given name given to the most terrifying wizard known to the magical world - Lord Voldemort. He was born to Tom Riddle Sr., a wealthy Muggle who abandoned his wife and unborn child, and Merope Gaunt, a pure-blood witch descended from Salazar Slytherin who died shortly after childbirth. Raised in a dreary London orphanage and educated at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Tom was an exceptional pupil, being both a Prefect and Head Boy. Very few of the staff could have suspected his true nature. The opening of the Chamber of Secrets and the murder of the Riddles were just but two of the instances associated with Tom, but could never be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. After leaving Hogwarts in 1945, Riddle began working at Borgin and Burkes on Knockturn Alley. His job was to ferret out items of value and obtain them at the lowest price possible. He suddenly left this job and disappeared after he killed Hepzibah Smith for a gold locket that belonged to Slytherin and a gold cup that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. He absorbed himself completely into the Dark Arts, and underwent many extreme magical transformations, including the creation of several Horcruxes. He assumed the alias Lord Voldemort and gathered an army known as the Death Eaters, planning to take over the wizarding world and achieve immortality. This would result in two wars and a great many deaths, until Voldemort was finally defeated by Harry Potter during the Battle of Hogwarts. Tom Riddle's soul is now trapped in limbo, unable to move on or return as a ghost. Family *'Tom Marvolo Riddle, Jr aka Lord Voldemort' - Born of a witch mother (Merope Gaunt) and a Muggle father (Tom Riddle, Sr.) on December 31, 1926. His mother fell in love with his father, who was a Muggle, and tricked him into marrying her with a love potion. While she was pregnant with Tom Jr. she allowed the love potion to wear off and he abandoned her and moved back into the Riddle house with his parents. Merope died giving birth to her son so Tom Jr. was raised in a Muggle orphanage. *'Tom Riddle, Sr' - An "anti-magic, rich, snobbish & rude" muggle who abandoned his pregnant wife and unborn son when she revealed that she was a witch. Tom Riddle, Jr. got his revenge when he killed his father in 1945, and used the death to create his first Horcrux, the Peverell Ring. Later, some of Tom Riddle Sr.'s bone was removed from his grave ("bone of the father, unknowingly given") to add to the potion that allowed Voldemort to regain his full powers. *'Merope (Gaunt) Riddle' - Married Tom Riddle Sr. through the use of a love potion. He left her when it wore off about a year later. She died in London at a Muggle orphanage after giving birth to Tom. Merope was a descendent of Salazar Slytherin. Hogwarts Years Voldemort attended Hogwarts from 1938 to 1945, and was sorted into Slytherin, a nod to his ancestor Salazar Slytherin. His fees were paid for by the Hogwarts Assistance Fund. See also *The Modern Age *The Golden Age *Death Eaters Category:OMApedia A to Z Category:Death Eaters Category:Halfblood